Category: News

Due to lockdowns last year, lots of musicians got creative with ways to entertain at-home fans (and themselves) since they couldn’t go perform or tour. One such way was Dave Grohl and Greg Kurstin combining forces for the “Hanukkah Session,” where they covered other songs from Jewish artists to celebrate the eight days of the Jewish holiday. Well, though 2021 is a little more open than 2020, looks like the pair are back it again.

Yesterday, they released a hilarious cover of Lisa Loeb’s iconic “Stay,” which alternated between shots of Grohl in a dress doing a full Loeb impression and a metal/hardcore take on the song. Surprisingly, the hardcore version of “Stay” really worked! Today, however, they’ve switched gears and are covering another iconic band, The Ramones. Doing one of the band’s best-known songs, the short but sweet “Blitzkrieg Bop,” Grohl and Kurstin offered up a faithful rendition with Grohl on drums and vocals, and Kurstin holding it down on both guitar and keyboard.

“Once upon a time, two nice Jewish boys from Queens named Jeffery Hyman and Thomas Erdelyi changed the world forever with their music….. as Joey and Tommy Ramone!” they captioned the straightforward cover on their Youtube page. Check it out above, and keep in mind six more covers will be heading your way before the end of Hanukkah.

If morbid (like, actually morbid) curiosity has you itching to watch a real-life version of Netflix’s hit series Squid Game, rest assured you’re not alone. In fact, at least 115 million others feel the same way as you — and better yet, they already have.

Uploaded on November 25, MrBeast’s Squid Game currently rests well over 115 million views and close to 10 million likes on YouTube. The 25-minute long video boasts itself as perfect “real life” version of Netflix’s hit series, with nearly every last game from the series’ immaculately recreated, the same number of contestants (456), and a massive cash prize of $456,000 up for grabs. While that last bit might be a bit less the show’s 45.6 billion, one of the other key differences between the show and MrBeast’s Squid Game is you don’t die if you lose, so it kind of evens out.

In the video, 456 contestants compete for the half-million-dollar prize, participating in five of the six games made famous by the hyper-violent South Korean drama and a new one created by MrBeast himself. Similar to the show, when a contestant loses the game, they are “eliminated,” though rather than death they face the wrath of a small device is under their shirt that pops and releases fake blood on their signature green tracksuit. However, don’t feel too bad for the losers — the famous YouTuber also shook things up by offering plenty of consolation prizes and even incentives for folks to quit the game early, doling out thousands at the end of nearly each mini-game.

While on the surface the whole project is quite the feat of production and undeniably pretty amazing, perhaps what’s even more impressive is that MrBeast and his team managed to create the entire video — sets and all — in around seven weeks. However, the video has also caused some discontent on the internet after various YouTube creators pointed the video’s quick turnaround, and praised MrBeast’s Squid Game as a glowing example of “the promise of the creator economy” with little regard as to how creating a television show and emulating it for a YouTube video are drastically different from one another.

Folks have also been quick to note how MrBeast’s recreation of Squid Game for entertainment value is pretty perverse considering the anti-capitalist message of the Netflix series and how it explicitly condemns people who idly watch folks struggle and mercilessly compete for money. However, this is merely the latest in a long string of MrBeast going above and beyond (and spending a hell of a lot of money) all for the sake of content, so it feels safe to say he might not feel quite the same about cash as Squid Game creator Hwang Dong-hyuk does. For those craving more Squid Game without the questionable morality, you’ll be pleased to know Hwang has confirmed a second season is on the way.

When you have a plum gig at a major news network and your brother, a big time politician, is involved in sexual misconduct scandals, there may be some conflicts of interest. Such is the case with Chris Cuomo, CNN anchor and brother of disgraced former New York governor Andrew Cuomo, who resigned in August. Throughout his sibling’s scandal, Chris tried to keep schtum, eventually maintaining that he’d kept his personal and professional lives relatively separate. He claimed he’d been a mere sounding board, there “to listen and to offer my take.” But that’s not exactly true, according to a new report.

A new New York Times piece sifts through some newly released records, and they concluded that Chris Cuomo was very much a part of his brother’s defense team. Starting with the first accusation, from former aide Lindsey Boylan, they sought, as per NYT, to “manipulate the press, discredit his accusers and retain a grip on power that became less and less tenable.”

Chris, who argued “strenuously” against Andrew’s resignation, at least before the investigation concluded, even demanding taking on a bigger role. He reportedly saw himself as a “satellite” of his brother’s “more formal advisers.” He even phoned into strategy meetings, even as he was going on CNN and claiming he was keeping a relative distance from the scandal.

“At one point,” NYT reports, “he even ran down a secondhand tip that another woman accusing the governor of unwanted advances at a wedding was lying. (She was not.)”

He reportedly went further than that:

For example, when Ms. DeRosa was trying to keep tabs in early March on journalists working to uncover stories of harassment, she turned to Chris Cuomo for intelligence.

“On it,” Mr. Cuomo wrote back after one such request. A few days later, Ms. DeRosa wrote to the governor’s brother that she had heard Ronan Farrow of The New Yorker was “getting ready to move” a story. “Can u check your sources?”

He even reportedly used his investigative skills to dig up dirt:

And he used his contacts to try to aid the defense in other ways. After The New York Times reported in early March that the governor had made an unwanted advance on a young woman at a wedding, Chris Cuomo had texted Ms. DeRosa to say, “I have a lead on the wedding girl,” who he believed had been acting maliciously to damage the governor.

The lead turned out to be bunk, he told investigators.

CNN has so far not responded to NYT for comment on their employee’s alleged actions. But it’s worth noting that there’s one person who thought Chris Cuomo aiding his brother was sound journalistic practice: Tucker Carlson.

(Via NYT)

For the past 16 years, Carson Daly has presided over NBC’s New Year’s Eve coverage. But his reign as the spirit of years past has come to an end as Miley Cyrus and Pete Davidson have signed on to host the 2021/2022 New Year’s Eve-a-palooza on NBC. And even though Cyrus’s Plastic Hearts was snubbed for a Grammy nomination last week, she’s now at the helm of a massive production.

Dubbed Miley’s New Year’s Eve Party Hosted by Miley Cyrus and Pete Davidson, the special is produced by Lorne Michaels, but Cyrus is part of the executive production team. Cyrus recently signed a development deal with NBCUniversal and the Hopetown Entertainment production company that she operates with her mom Tish is also co-producing the special. The special will be recorded in Miami and NBC says the broadcast will feature a “star-studded lineup of special guests and musical performances.”

Cyrus is on top of the pop world, doing everything recently from launching her Miley’s World fan platform to being announced as a headliner at multiple Lollapalooza festivals in South America. Her co-host Davidson has a unique understanding of modern pop culture, namely on how to make fun of it, like he’s done recently on SNL with Aaron Rodgers‘s anti-vaxx stance and absolutely roasting the Jonas Brothers.

Miley’s New Year’s Eve Party airs from 10:30 p.m. ET to 12:30 a.m. ET on New Year’s Eve, on NBC, and live-streamed on Peacock.

It’s almost always fun when high-profile recording artists clear their social media because it usually means a new project is on the way. However, in the case of the artist formerly known as Kanye West, it’s more bemusing than anything else. For one thing, he just dropped a new album, Donda, which received a mixed response from critics and fans, and for another, this is something he does with some degree of regularity for reasons that make sense to him alone (and maybe not even him, if we’re being honest).

As of this writing, Ye’s profile picture on Instagram is simply an empty black field and there are no photos on the grid at all. Meanwhile, on his Twitter, every tweet for the last 12 months has been deleted. His most recent tweets are all from his controversial failed presidential campaign last November, with a sizable number of his tweets from before that cleared out as well. Ominously, most of the remaining posts pertain to his campaign, and it’s probably telling that the first one that appears is his “concession” tweet from the last election that reads “Kanye 2024.”

While we were spared from such a thing mainly due to Ye’s haphazard, slapdash approach to the campaign, his latest social media reset could imply that he’s taking the next effort much more seriously this time around — which could both be good and bad, for any number of reasons. However, it could also be a response to the recent death of his friend and collaborator Virgil Abloh, who passed away on Sunday after a two-year battle with cancer. Either way, we hope Ye uses the reset wisely an makes more responsible use of his social media platforms in the future.

One thing we can always anticipate with the release of a new Halo is the live action trailers. Back when Halo 3 was getting ready for release in 2007, there was a massive marketing campaign push to get as much attention on the game as possible. One of the ways they did that was a live action trailer with actual actors. This trailer was such a hit that it’s pretty much been a staple of the series ever since.

While the multiplayer for Halo Infinite has pretty much been released, with many of us already diving into it, we still have the campaign to look forward to on December 8. In anticipation of the release, which is approaching very quickly, a new live action trailer was released. In it was a pretty simple message for anyone watching: there’s a Spartan in all of us.

The trailer itself features a montage of characters all being put in growingly stressful situations. Of course, at the penultimate moments, it always cuts to a new set of characters. Finally, the trailer cuts to Master Chief standing before a battlefield ready to charge into action. That shot is then followed by everyone else doing similar in their own situations. It’s all very heroic and with a very clear message. There’s a spartan in everyone.

It will be interesting to see how much, if any of this, translates over into the actual game. While we likely won’t see Master Chief in these situations we may see similar theming from trailer to official campaign release. We won’t have to wait too much longer with the game’s release so close.

Broadway Honors Sondheim—’Sunday’ from ‘Sunday in the Park With George’ in Times Square 11/28/21

The massive crowd is a sea of recognizable faces, including Sara Bareilles (“Waitress”) and Josh Groban. Perhaps most easily spotted is teary-eyed Lin Manuel Miranda, a modern-day Sondheim in his own right.

Miranda would later be seen reading a passage about “Sunday in the Park with George” from Sondheim’s memoir, which read:

“Once during the writing of each show, I cry at a notion, a word, a chord, a melodic idea, an accompaniment figure… In this show, it was the word ‘forever’ in ‘Sunday.’ I was suddenly moved by the contemplation of what these people would have thought if they’d know they were being immortalized, and in a major way, in a great painting.”

Towards the verticals of trees
Forever . . .
By the blue purple yellow red water
On the green
Orange violet mass
Of the grass
In our perfect park
Made of flecks of light
And dark,
And parasols . . .
Bumbum bum Bumbumbum
Bumbum bum . . .#Sondheim pic.twitter.com/AG9e5zoAND

— Howard Sherman (@HESherman) November 28, 2021

In an age where we’re more likely to stay at home and watch Netflix than go to a live concert, let alone go see a musical, there are many who have not experienced that inexplicable, magic quality that live theatre possesses. At its best, it inspires people to use their voice, practice empathy and come together in community with one another. Sondheim was the very best of the best at embodying this quality in his works. And if this video is any indication, he will be sorely missed.

Sondheim too will be immortalized, perhaps in a way he’d never imagined during his lifetime.

Before she became a trailblazing star in British avant-pop, FKA Twigs was an in-demand backup dancer for artists like Kylie Minogue and Ed Sheeran. She’s kept that dance background at the center of her visuals throughout her career as a recording artist and famously moves with memorable hypnotism on stage.

Now in the video for the recently released track, “Measure Of A Man,” she shifts from gyrating swordswoman to a downright provocateur. The video is spliced in with some footage from the Matthew Vaughn-directed The King’s Man (where the song is part of the soundtrack) and Twigs is a dynamic interpretive dancer throughout it. She moves with fiery vigor around rapper Central Cee as he delivers his verse, and then leaves little to the imagination as she sensually dances atop a gold ring while wearing a skin-tight see-through top and leather lingerie bottoms.

“This song has such a different sound which is a challenge,” the singer said in a statement. “You’ve got to really embody the song. For me especially with my vocals, I had to pull a different side of my artistry out.”

The song indeed feels like it belongs in the spy movie where it’s drawn from and she adds to that mystique in the clip. Watch it above.

The King’s Man is out on 12/22/2022 in theaters everywhere.

In recent years, Tyler The Creator has been using his full name, Tyler Okonma, more regularly in creative projects, especially in the credits of film projects which credit him more often by his government name than his nom de plume. A big reason for that was the late Virgil Abloh, as Tyler revealed in a touching Instagram post remembering the designer’s passion and impact on Tyler and other Black creatives.

“few years back i started using more of my African last name OKONMA because of how regal Virgils felt,” Tyler shared. “Everything he did felt like he said ‘hey over here, coast is clear’ whenever i questioned things.”

In a longer post than he usually shares, Tyler described Abloh as “a true geek” and “a cheerleader for everyone,” vowing to follow in the late designer’s footsteps. “That hand of his opened doors, lead people in and tossed the keys outside for the next person to have,” Tyler recalled. “wish i was able to see him see what his helping hand did for me. his spirit is around tho. i feel it. he’ll see it. i’ll keep pushing and trying things while leaving the door open. he’ll shake those pom-poms. we’ll keep that on loop. safe travels.”

Abloh’s death was reported on Sunday by his personal accounts and those of the LVMH brand (where he had been artistic director for the last few years), revealing that he’d battled “a rare, aggressive form of cancer” since 2019. His death was met by a wave of appreciative posts from friends and fans, who praised his creativity and pioneering in the world of high fashion, as well as a dedication from Kanye West.

14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible (Netflix documentary) — A fearless Nepali climber, Nirmal “Nimsdai” Purja, feeds into his country’s deep connection to daredevil mountaineering at the top of the world. As the title suggests, he undertakes the mission to climb the world’s 14 highest peak, and he enlists the power of skilled Sherpas to get the job done. In the process, he encounters extreme weather while also processing heavy emotions about his everyday life on sea-level altitude.

9-1-1 (FOX, 8:00pm) — The 118 must race to save lives when a massive LA sinkhole (sounds like, uh, La Brea?) forms as the result of an erupting oil well. Then Athena’s on a decades-old casino-heist case.

The Black Pack: We Three Kings (CW, 8:00pm) — This celebration of the holiday season arrives through a colorful lens, all while highlighting the best music, comedy, and dance on the scene.

4400 (CW, 9:00pm) — Rev’s flock is growing while Med assists, all while Jharrel and Keisha work to build trust and Hayden’s working to spread a message.

We’re Here (HBO, 9:00pm) — The Queens travel to Grand Junction, Colorado to help make more vibrant stage dreams come true.

Wakefield (Showtime, 9:00pm) —

The Late Show With Stephen Colbert — Peter Jackson, Chelsea Cutler

The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon — Alessia Cara, Pistol Annies

In case you missed this recent streaming pick:

Kamikaze (HBO Max series) — This Polish show might not be on your radar yet, but it arrives with a riveting premise: what happens to one’s identity when everything that matters in your life disappears in one panicked heartbeat? Marie Reuther portrays a young woman who gets a terrible text message — her entire family is about to go down in a plane crash — that changes everything. She’s alone and picking up the pieces, and this feels very much like Morvern Callar but with a contemporary spin. Yes, expect tragedy here, but you also won’t be able to look away from where this protagonist goes.